J  CHILDREN'S  BOOK  ? 

COLLECTION 


~  LIBRARY  OF  THE  ^ 

9       UNivEHsrrv  OF  CALIFORNIA      J£ 

LOS  ANGELES 


>ESS  EEWARDED. 


IDA  was  a  kind-hearted  girl,  and  one  day  when  cross- 
ing a  bridge  near  her  home,  she  saw  two  boys  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream,  trying  to  drown  a  little  dog. 

Ida,  like  all  good  girls,  could  not  bear  to  see  anything 
suffer,  and  was  brave  enough  to  try  and  prevent  it.  So, 
she  ran  to  the  shore,  wringing  her  hands,  and  crying 
loudly,  "  Oh  !  you  bad,  wicked  boys  !  how  can  you  be  so 
cruel  to  that  poor  little  dog? 

The  boys  looked  at  her  in  wonder,  for  they  were  more 
thoughtless  than  cruel ;  and  one  of  them  said,  "  Father 
sold  the  rest  of  the  pups,  but  could  not  sell  this  one, 
and  so  he  told  us  to  drown  it."  "  Then  he  should  have 
done  it  himself,"  replied  Ida,  her  pretty  face  flushing 
with  anger  as  she  spoke,  "  and  not  have  trusted  it  to 
boys,  who  would  cause  it  needless  pain." 

The  dog  had,  by  this  time,  reached  the  bank,  and 
after  politely  shaking  off  the  water,  crept  timidly  toward 
Ida,  as  if  he  knew  her  for  a  friend.  "  Poor  little  fellow," 
she  said,  patting  his  head  tenderly,  "how  pitiful  he 
looks !  will  you  give  him  to  me  ?"  "  Yes/'  said  the 
boys,  looking  very  foolish,  "  we  did  not  mean  to  be  cruel. 
You  may  have  him  and  welcome." 

Ida  thanked  the  boys  very  sweetly,  and  ran  home. 

"Oh!  Mamma,"  she  cried,  "look  at  this  dear  little 
dog ;  two  boys  were  trying  to  drown  him  in  the  creek, 
and  I  asked  them  to  give  him  to  me.  May  I  keep  him, 
dear  Mamma  ?"  "  My  dear  child,"  said  Mrs.  Mason, 
(which  was  the  name  of  Ida's  mother,)  "  I  am  very  glad 
to  hear  that  you  saved  the  little  creature  from  pain. 
We  cannot  very  well  keep  him  here,  but  perhaps,  in  a 


Carlo,  or  Kindness  Rewarded.  3 

few  days,  we  can  find  some  one  who  will  be  kind  to 
him." 

Ida  was  a  little  disappointed,  for  we  always  love 
anything  we  have  saved  from  death,  but  she  said  noth- 
ing, and  you  will  see  in  the  end  how  her  goodness  was 
rewarded.  The  next  morning,  Ida  sat  at  the  door  of 
the  cottage,  studying  her  lesson,  while  her  new  pet,  lit- 
tle Carlo  (as  she  had  named  the  dog)  played  at  her 
feet..  A  pleasant  looking  young  lad,  who  was  walking 
slowly  down  the  road,  switching  the  tall  grass  as  he 
came,  stopped  to  look  at  the  pretty  picture.  His  name 
was  Eugene  Morris,  and  he  was  the  son  of  a  rich  gen- 
tleman, who  lived  near  by.  "  Good  morning,  Ida,"  he 
said,  with  a  bow  and  a  smile,  "  is  that  pretty  little  dog 
yours?"  "Yes,  sir,7'  said  Ida,  blushing  a  little;  "but 
Mamma  says  I  must  give  him  away,  because  we  cannot 
afford  to  keep  him."  Ida  then  told  the  story  of  the 
dog,  and  how  she  had  saved  him  from  the  hands  of  the 
thoughtless  boys ;  and  finished  by  saying  that  she  was 
only  keeping  him,  until  she  could  find  some  kind  person 
who  would  take  good  care  of  him."  Eugene  looked 
much  pleased  at  her  artless  story,  and  after  a  short 
pause,  said,  "  Well,  pretty  Ida,  I  do  not  ask  you  to  give 
him  to  me,  but  if  you  will  sell  him,  I  will  take  him  with 
pleasure.  Here  are  five  dollars ;  will  that  pay  for 
Carlo  ?"  "  We  do  not  want  any  pay  for  good  Carlo," 
said  Ida,  patting  the  little  creature  tenderly,  "  except  a 
promise  of  kind  treatment,  and  that  I  am  sure  he  will  get 
from  you.*'  Eugene  looked  pleased  at  this,  and,  with  a 
good-bye,  then,  till  to-morrow,';  went  slowly  down  the 
road,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight.  The  next  morning, 
Eugene  came,  and  took  Carlo  away,  leaving  five  dollars 
with  Mrs.  Mason,  which  he  compelled  her  to  take,  for 
he  knew  she  was  poor,  and  a  widow.  Ida  cried  a  little 
when  Carlo  whined  for  her,  but  she  knew  that  he  would 
be  in  good  hands  and  soon  dried  her  tears. 

One  morning,  about  two  years  after  Carlo  had  gone 


Ida  Saving  Carlo. 

with  his  new  master,  Ida  was  standing  upon  the  same 
bridge,  looking  at  some  fish  which  darted  about  in  the 
water  as  if  at  play.  At  last  they  went  further  under  the 
bridge  ;  and  Ida,  leaning  over,  a  little  too  far,  in  her 
eagerness  to  see  them,  lost  her  balance,  and  fell  over 


Eugene  and  Ida. 

the  low  rail  into  the  creek,  which,  at  that  point,  was 
deep  enough  to  drown  her !  She  had  but  just  time  to 
give  one  loud  cry  of  fright,  as  she  sunk  beneath  the  cruel 
water.  In  a  moment,  she  rose  to  the  top,  but  only  to 
sink  again.  Poor  Ida!  is  there  no  one  to  help  her? 


6  Carlo,  or  Kindness  Rewarded. 

Yes,  the  good  God  who  watches  over  the  smallest  of 
his  creatures  has  not  forgotten  little  Ida.  A  large  dog, 
who  lay  lazily  winking  in  the  sunshine  a  little  way  off, 
has  heard  her  cry.  He  pricks  up  his  ears,  and  comes 
swiftly  toward  her,  with  great  leaps — barking  loudly  as 
he  jumps — in  a  moment  he  plunges  into  the  creek,  and 
catches  Ida  by  her  dress  just  as  she  is  about  to  sink  for 
the  last  time !  Ida  is  heavy,  and  cannot  help  herself, 
but  the  dog  is  strong  and  brave,  and,  swimming  and 
tugging  with  all  his  might,  he  soon  brings  her  in  safety 
to  the  shore.  Then  pulling  her  head  out  of  the  water, 
so  that  it  rested  on  the  soft  grass,  he  raised  his  head  in 
the  air,  opened  his  great  mouth,  and  barked  long  and 
loudly  for  help.  And  help  was  near.  The  master  of 
the  dog,  a  tall,  handsome  boy,  caine  running  up,  "  Why, 
Carlo  boy,  what's  the  matter  ?"  he  said  cheerily.  But 
in  a  moment  he  saw  Ida  still  partly  in  the  water,  with 
her  eyes  closed,  as  if  dead  !  He  at  once  drew  her  up  on 
the  bank,  when  she  soon  opened  her  eyes,  and  looked 
around  as  if  she  did  not  know  where  she  was.  But 
Eugene  Morris,  for  it  was  he,  said,  "  What !  little  Ida, 
nearly  drowned.  Why,  how  in  the  world  did  you  get  in 
the  water ?"  Ida  was  now  well  enough  to  tell  her  story ; 
and  after  she  had  finished,  Eugene  called  her  attention 
to  the  dog,  at  the  same  time  wrapping  Ida  in  his  over- 
coat, and  leading  her  toward  her  home.  /'Don't  you 
know  him  ?7'  he  said,  "  it  is  your  old  friend  Carlo  :  you 
saved  his  life,  and  now  he  has  saved  yours  in  return." 

How  strange  are  the  ways  of  God !  The  very  dog 
which  Ida  saved  from  death,  two  years  before,  had  now 
been  able  to  pay  his  debt  to  the  tender-hearted  little 
girl,  on  the  same  spot !  This  surely  is  not  chance,  but 
seems  to  show  that  good  deeds  are  rewarded  even  in 
this  world.  Carlo,  who  was  a  well-bred  dog,  had  shaken 
himself  dry  by  this  time,  and  was  rubbing  his  nose 
against  Ida's  dress,  as  if  to  say,  "  Don't  you  know  your 
old  friend?" 


Carlo,  or  Kindness  Rewarded.  T 

As  she  was  still  weak,  from  the  shock  of  the  fall  and 
the  fright,  Eugene  went  home  with  her,  and  explained 
the  thing  to  the  alarmed  Mrs.  Mason,  after  which  he 
took  his  leave,  promising  to  come  and  see  her  the  next 
day.  Eugene  was  as  good  as  his  word;  and  early  the 
next  morning  came  down  to  the  widow's  cottage,  accom- 
panied by  a  gentleman  and  a  little  girl  about  four  years 
old,  whom  Ida  had  never  seen  before.  Carlo,  of  course, 
was  in  the  party,  and  was  made  much  of  by  everybody, 
receiving  a  great  deal  of  attention,  which  he  accepted 
with  much  dignity  ;  sitting  up  on  his  hind  legs, -wagging 
his  tail,  and  giving  vent,  now  and  then,  to  a  short, 
amiable  bark  of  thanks  to  his  kind  friends. 

The  gentleman,  who  was  Eugene's  father,  Mr.  Morris, 
after  kissing  little  Ida,  said,  "  this  little  girl  whom  I 
have  brought  to  see  you,  is  my  only  daughter  Lottie ; 
and  you  were  the  means  of  her  having  been  saved  from 
drowning."  Ida's  look  of  surprise  at  this,  was  comical 
to  see.  "Not  long  since,"  went  on  Mr.  Morris,  "our 
good  Carlo  saved  her  life,  just  as  he  did  yours,  yester- 
day. Eugene  tells  me,  that,  but  for  your  goodness  of 
heart,  Carlo  would  have  been  killed  when  he  was  a 
puppy  ;  and  in  that  case  I  should  have  had  no  little  Lottie 
to-day ;  for  there  was  no  one  near  at  the  time  but  the 
nurse,  who  was  too  much  frightened  to  be  of  any  use. 
I  desire  then,  Mrs.  Mason,  with  your  permission,  to 
make  Ida  a  "  little  present."  So  saying,  he  kissed  Ida 
again — -put  a  small  package  into  her  hand,  and  bowing 
politely,  to  the  surprised  Mrs.  Mason ;  left  the  cottage 
with  his  party,  before  she  could  find  words  to  thank 
him.  The  package  proved  to  be  a  bank-book  in  which 
Ida  was  credited  with  five  thousand  dollars  in  her  own 
name!  This  was  Mr.  Morris's  "little  present."  Mrs. 
Mason  owned  the  cottage  in  which  she  lived,  but 
nothing  more  ;  and  was  obliged  to  sew,  early  and  late,  to 
gain  a  scanty  support  for  Ida  and  herself.  This  money 
was,  therefore,  great  wealth  to  them,  and  would  enable 


Carlo  Saving  Ida. 

Mrs.  Mason  to  fulfil  the  dearest  wish  of  her  heart, 
which  was  to  give  a  good  education  to  her  beloved  Ida. 
Every  kind  action  is,  I  think,  rewarded,  either  here  or 
hereafter ;  yet  we  should  try  to  do  good  for  its  own 
sake,  and  leave  the  result  to  the  great  Father  of  us  all ! 


